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A two-year-old boy cowered in the corner of his bedroom. Though he was too young to understand what was happening outside the door, he could sense the hostility. His mother was enduring another beating from her husband who was in an unstoppable frenzy. He tossed her around the room. He broke everything he could get his hands on. The soup on the stovetop boiled over and the young boy cried. It was the last time she would bear her husband’s wrath. The woman left that night with her son with the advice of her only support system in the back of her mind; her doctor and domestic abuse advocate.
This was a story told by Reverend Gloria White-Hammond, MD, a pediatrician at the South End Community Health Center and co-pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston. White-Hammond was the guest speaker at an award ceremony on November 6, honoring advocates who work with domestic violence survivors.. Nineteen advocates from three Partners Community Benefit Programs—BWH’s Passageway, MGH’s Haven and North Shore Medical Center’s Crossroads—were recognized and honored for their efforts to improve the health of survivors. “We are here to honor and celebrate the advocates, the heroes. They work to save lives, and it is inspiring and moving,” said Gary L. Gottlieb, MD, MBA, president, BWH.Passageway, a program of the Office for Women, Family and Community Programs at BWH, develops safe interventions to domestic violence through training, advocacy, community linkages, education and evaluation. Patients and employees, who are experiencing abuse, can receive free confidential services including crisis intervention, help finding emergency shelter, support groups, counseling, medical advocacy, safety planning, and assistance in obtaining police and legal protection.Tina Nappi, director of BWH’s Passageway, is grateful for Partners’ and BWH’s support. “The BWH-Passageway staff provide intensive services to patients and employees experiencing domestic violence. They serve as advocates for the rights of victims and survivors of violence, and prove to be skilled, compassionate, resourceful, collaborative and innovative in their work each and every day,” said Nappi.Matt Fishman, director of Community Benefit Programs for Partners HealthCare, said since the three domestic violence programs began in 1997, they have served 4,800 domestic violence victims and trained 4,700 hospital and health center caregivers and staff.